AMD Demos Six-Core Istanbul CPU, Plans 2H Launch

Here recently, all the buzz surrounding AMD has involved its Dragon platform or newly spun The Foundry Company. Needless to say, it's
about time we got back to the basics. Advanced Micro Devices has today
announced that it recently completed live public demonstrations of its
upcoming six-core 45nm AMD Opteron processor, which is currently
carrying the codename "Istanbul."

Said chip is scheduled to
launch in the second half of 2009, and while we're left to assume that
"launch" translates to "ships" (right, AMD?), it should be the "only
x86 six-core processor available for two- and four-socket systems and
higher" whenever it finally hits the market. For those who
weren't around to see it, we're informed that the demonstration
involved a live, seamless upgrade of a system based on 45nm Quad-Core
AMD Opteron processors to Istanbul processors, which was made possible
by Istanbul's innate socket- and thermal-compatibility with currently
shipping AMD Opteron processor-based systems. The move, which will
undoubtedly please consumers who detest upgrading everything every six
months, is said to "reduce qualification times for OEMs and solution
providers, while giving end-users the opportunity to upgrade their
existing systems."

John Fruehe, director of business
development, Server Workstation, had this to say on the promising demo:
"Thus far we see impressive performance and performance-per-watt
results in our initial 'Istanbul' testing. We expect global OEMs and
solution providers to begin shipping systems based on 'Istanbul' in the
second half of this year." There's a video of the test just below.